The Last Migration...

For the past 25 years, Josh Leger had lived one migration at a time. It started as a 15 year old when a friend and his friend's father took them hunting and as so often happens after one's first experience with waterfowling; Josh became hooked right away. He got a duck boat before he even could afford a car to tow it around. Since then, he has been out fishing and hunting at every opportunity. Being a man of passion, Josh would not leave it at simple outings. Waterfowl hunting soon became a way of life and filled every aspect of his daily existence. Before long, he wanted to share what he had learned in the field with the people around him, and that group of people grew larger everyday. He was a charismatic man who was eager to get people excited about all types of hunting and fishing, but it was waterfowl hunting that really made the fires within Josh burn. Whether it was blind concealment, scouting, decoy spread tactics, calling or dog training and handling; he mastered every aspect of this hunt, and it wasn't long before he was asked to share his thoughts and observations in magazines, web sites, forums, DVDs and as an industry Pro-Staffer. His opinion was so valued that when the Destination X film crew produced their first DVD, we sought (aside from our own team) one man's approval only: Big Josh's.

You had to have met him to know how contagious his enthusiasm was. He even managed to include his passion for dogs in his line of work, (or was it the opposite?) Jocelyn trained and handled dogs for customs and police corps in Québec and he was damn good at it. Spuds, Bibi, Brutus and Soya will have been the last of a long line of dogs with whom Jocelyn will have shared his passion and career.

Jocelyn was most content when his house was filled with friends. Every occasion was a good reason to have a BBQ or diner. He had many friends and he helped out anyone who needed it without seeking anything in return. I guess I realised we had become good friends when one day he needed help and he turned to me. If I had to guess if Jocelyn had regrets, I would say he regretted the fact he never had any children to pass his passion on to. I don't know if he ever realised it, but we all inherited his passion and his love for waterfowl hunting. Seeing now how his death has touched us all and brought us together, it makes me realise he made us all into one big family and that he his engaging human nature will live in all of us who were touched by his life.

He spent most of his life promoting ethical hunting method and stood firmly against crawlers. The tragic irony in the fact that one of them caused his death is unbearable. On October 10, 2007 at around 4:00 pm, a man saw Jocelyn's spread of decoys and thought they were real snow geese. The man stepped out of his car and shot one round of a .22 rifle from about 400 feet into the spread. He hit Jocelyn in the head.

Jocelyn was taken off the respirator at 11:00 pm on October 10 th , 2007. We are all in mourning of a great man, a great hunter, a great mentor and a great friend. He will be missed. We can find a slim consolation in knowing he did what he liked best, surrounded by good friends, but never again will the sound of geese echo the same memories in our minds, for, from now on, his memory will be at the forefront of every flight of migrating birds that announce the upcoming hunting seasons.